Card filing device



Qfi 1934- .1. s. STAFFORD, JR p CARD FILING DEVICE Filed Dec. 29, 1931Patented et. 9, 1934 rreo SATES PATENT OFFICE I CARE) IFIHNG DEVICEApplication December 23, 1931, Serial No. 583,735

12 Claims. (Cl. 112h-ll6) m cessible.

Still another object is to provide in a device of this character,improved means for holding the cards in place.

A further object is to provide a rotatable card 1155 holding device withsimple and easily operable braking means so that rotation of the devicemay be stopped at any desired point to make any desired card accessibleto -the attendant.

To these and other ends the invention resides at in certain improvementsand combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the endof the specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a-transverse vertical section taken substantially centrallythrough a device constructed in accordance with a preferred embodimentof the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary radial or longitudinal 3W vertical sectionthrough a filing device constructed in accordance with the inventionwith the casing in closed position;

Fig. 3 is a view of one of the cards adapted to be held by the filingdevice of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4. is a fragmentary radial section through one of the filingdevices illustrating details of one form of cross partition;

Fig. 5 is a similar view illustrating another form of cross partition;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary transverse section through the cross partition,taken substantially on the line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary radial section through a card index deviceshowing a modified form of construction, and

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the card filingdevice of the present invention comprises a rotatable wheel-like bodymounted in any suitable position so as to be conveniently accessible toan attendant or operator. For example, as shown more especially in Figs.

1 and 2, there may be provided a horizontal shaft 10 mounted in brackets11 depending from a table or other suitable frame 12. Rotatably mountedon'this shaft 10 is a plurality of individual filing devices placedclosely adjacent each other, as shown in Fig. 2. Each device ispreferably made principally of sheet metal and comprises, for example, apair of substantially circular sheet metal disks-14 each rotatablymounted on the shaft 10,

as by means of suitable ball bearings 15. A cylindrical member 16,preferably also of sheet metal, extends around the shaft 10 between thetwo .70 disks l4 and concentric therewith, slightly inwardly from theperipheries of the disks. This cylindrical member 16 is securelyfastened to each of the disks 14, as by means of welding the disks tointumed annular flanges 1'7 at the edges of 76 the cylindrical member16, so that the two disks 14 and the member 16 together form an integralunitary structure.

This construction provides a substantially circular peripheral slot. orchannel for receiving 80 cards or the like, the bottom of which slot orchannel is formed by the member 16 and the sides of which are formed bythose portions of the disks 14 which extend radially outwardly beyondthe member 16. The channel thus formed is adapted to receive index cardsor the like in an upstanding or substantially radial position, whichcards preferably extend continuously around the periphery of the deviceso that it is counterbalanced in all positions, and does not tend toassume any particular position of rest. If only a. part of the channelis needed for holding the desired data. cards, the rest of thecircumference may be filled with a supply of blank cards or with oldwaste cards, in order to counterbalance the wheel-like filing device.

The cards are preferably retained in position in the slot or channel bymeans of inwardly extending lateral flanges 20 which may be formed byturning inwardly the peripheral edges of the 10o disks 14, and whichoverlie the tops of the cards to prevent them from slipping radially outof the slot. These flanges 20 extend continuously around the entirecircumference of the card-receiving channel, without a break, and whenit is 1 desired to remove cards from the channel or insert cardstherein, this may be done by forcibly turning the cards obliquely orbowing them sumciently so that the edges of the cards are released fromthe flanges.

Supplementary retaining means may also be provided, especially in cardfiles of the larger sizes. Such means may comprise, for example, anadditional pair of inwardly extending flanges 22 at the sides of thechannel, as plainly shown, for example, in Fig. 4, which flanges extendcontinuously around the channel. When these flanges 22 are provided, thecards 23 (Fig. 3) have notches 24 in their side edges into which theflanges 22 extend and with which they engage to assist in holding thecards in proper position in the channel. The bowing or oblique turningof a card to release it from one pair of flanges 20 also releases itfrom the other pair of flanges 22, so that the cards may be readilyinserted or removed at will, although they can not drop out of thechannel accidentally.

Preferably transverse partition members extend across the card receivingchannel at suitable points around the circumference thereof, to assistin holding the cards, and especialy to prevent them from turningobliquely to a position in which they might drop out accidentally. Suchpartition members in the preferred form of the invention are pivoted tooscillate about a transverse axis substantially at the bottom of thecardreceiving slot or channel, so that the partitions may be tilted backand forth to either side of a radial position. This permits greaterfreedom of tilting movement of the cards, especially of those cardswhich are adjacent one of the partition members, though it does notdetract to any material extent from the protection against obliqueturning which is provided by these partitions.

In the preferred form of the invention, the partition members are formedof sheet metal and are relatively thin so that they do not take up anymaterial amount of space in the channel. Each partition member may be,for example, of the form shown at 25 in Fig. 4, or at 26 in Fig. 5. Thebottom edge of each partition member throughout the greater portion ofits length rests loosely upon the cylindrical member 16., Eachpartition, however, has projecting tabs 27 and 28 extending downwardlyfrom the bottom thereof and passing through a short slot 29 in themember 16. The tabs 27 and 28 after passing through the slot are bent ordeformed in opposite directions from each other, as indicated in Fig. 6,so that these tabs are locked in the slots 29 and the partitions arethus held in position against radial displacement. The slots 29 aresufliciently wider than the thickness of the partitions, however, sothat the partitions are free to oscillate back and forth to aconsiderable extent to each side of a strictly radial position.

Various arrangements may be provided for limiting the extent ofoscillation of the partitions.

For example, when both pairs of flanges 20 and 22 Y are used, thepartition member 25, as shown'in Fig. 4, may have lateral extensions 30between the flanges 20 and 22, the bottom edges of .these extensions 30being in such position that they will contact with the top surfaces ofthe flanges flanges 20 and is there provided with lateral extensions 31overlying the upper flanges 20, the bottom edges of the extensions 31coming into contact with the top surfaces of the flanges 20, after thepartition has oscillated to a certain extent, in order to limit theamount of oscillation.

One pair of card retaining flanges, either 20 or 22, is frequently foundto be sufficient to retain the cards in place in their channel,especially when the cards are of small size. For filing devices holdingcards of larger size, the two pairs of flanges, both 20 and 22, arefrequently more satisfactory than a single pair, and both pairs offlanges aid in holding the cards in proper position. At times, however,it may be desired to provide other holding means for the cards whetherone or two pair of flanges be used. Such other holding means maycomprise, for example, a rodlike member 40 (Fig. 7) extendingcontinuously around the card receiving channel slightly above the bottom16 thereof and secured to the bottom at intervals by any suitable means,such as clips 41 encircling the rod 40 and welded or riveted to thebottom 16. Instead of using the spring clips 41 the rod may be securedto posts 42 (Fig. 8) riveted to the bottom 16 at intervals around thecircumference thereof. When such a rod is used, the cards have notchesin their bottom edges of a somewhat keyhole shape, so that when thecards are forced down over the rod 40, the rod enters the enlarged partof the notch and the cards are relatively free thereon, but they cannotbe disengaged therefrom without a substantial amount of force. In thisway, the cards are locked to the rod 40, which assists in holding themin place and in preventing outward radial displacement of the cards.

Where the intermediate lateral flanges 22 are used in conjunction withthe rod 40, the notches at the side of the card for engagement with theflanges 22 should be of greater extent from top to bottom than isnecessary when the rod 40 is not employed. A card of this kind isillustrated at 44 in Fig. 7, in which the deeper notch is shown at 45.Since the card is locked near its bottom edge to the rod 40, it followsthat when the card is tilted backwards or forwards for purposes ofinspection, its bottom edge cannot rise materially above the bottom ofthe channel. Consequently the notches must be of suflicient height sothat 125 the top edges of the notches will not contact too soon with theflanges 22 and prevent the desired tilting of the card. When the rod 40is not employed, however, the notches may be of less depth, as shown at24 in Fig. 3, because in this case when 130 the cards are tilted over,the bottom edges are free to rise above the bottom 16 of the channel andthus tilting of the card is not interfered with.

When the additional card holding means 40 5 is employed, the crosspartition members 25 or 26 are, of course, provided with notches intheir bottom edges through which the rod 40 passes. Such a notch isshown at 48 in Fig. 2.

As previously stated, a number of card filing devices or cabinets ofthis kind may be mounted upon the same shaft, two being shown by way ofexample in Fig. 2. It will be noted that the construction is exceedinglycompact, it being possible to place two of theflles extremely close toeach other on the shaft, separated only by the slight spacing such asprovided by the spacing washers 50. The close spacing of the flles ispossible largely because of the fact that cards are inserted and removedentirely through the periphery of the file, and it is not necessary toobtain access to the sides of the file at any time for manipulating thefile or for looking or unlocking the cards.

The various filing devices mounted upon the same shaft may be of thesame kind or may have some variations. For example, of the two devicesshown in Fig. 2, the right hand one is of the form first described,having only the flanges 20 and 22 to retain the cards, whereas the lefthand file in addition to the flanges 20 and 22 is provided also with therod forretaining cards. Such an arrangement might be especiallydesirable, for example, in a case where it was desired to have one groupof cards which could be placed in either file, as desired, and a secondgroup of cards containing perhaps information of a difierent characterwhich would fit only in one of the files. Under such circumstances therecould be-provided a supply of cards having bottom notches for fittingover the rod 40, such cards being of the character shown at 44 in Fig.7, and these could be placed at will in either of the files. Anothergroup of cards having no notches in their bottom edges, such as thecards shown at 23 in Fig. 3, could be provided for carrying informationof a different character, and these would fit only in the right hand oneof the two files shown in Fig. 2. If through accident an attempt weremade to place such a card in the left hand file, its entrance into thefile would be stopped by the rod 46, and thus accidental placement ofthe card in the wrong file would immediately become apparent and couldbe corrected.

lit is intended that an attendant or operator sit or stand in front of agroup of such files mounted upon one of several shafts, and grasp thefiles to rotate them'to bring any desired card to a convenientaccessible position. Rotation of the files is relatively easy, sincethey are preferably mounted on ball bearings on their shaft and only aslight amount of force is necessary to rotate them, which force may betransmitted to the files by grasping the partitions 25 or 26, or bycontact with suitable guide cards spaced at intervals around the fileand having tabs which stick up into an accessible position.

In order to save the attendant as much physical exertion as possible,braking means is preferably provided to arrest rotation of the file atthe proper point after the attendant has started it turning. Suchbraking means, as shown in Fig.

1, may comprise a brake shoe pivoted to a lever 56 fulcrumed at 57 to anear on a casing enveloping the lower part of the files. Such brake shoemay be operated in any suitable manher, such as by a link 58 connectedat its lower end to the lever 56 and at its upper end to an operatinglever 59 mounted on the table 12 in a position conveniently accessibleto the attendant. Withthis arrangement, the attendant starts the file torotating in the proper direction, and as the desired card draws near anaccessible position pressure is applied by the brake shoe 55 to slowdown the rotation of the file and finally to bring it to a stop when thedesired card is just at the desired point.

lid

it envelops the upper part of the files.

or never be rotated at the same instant, and consequently one brake canbe satisfactorily used for each two adjacent files, resulting in aconsiderable reduction in the number of brake shoes and operatingmechanism necessary.

The casing 60 enveloping the lower part of the files has been mentioned.Preferably also a movable casing is provided for enveloping the upperpart of the files when they are not in use to keep dustcofi of them atnight, and also to prevent damage to the cards by water leakage or othercauses. This upper movable part may comprise a hood-like member 61pivoted on the shaft 10, provided with a handle 62 which may beconveniently gripped to open and close it. The casing 61 is shown in itsopen position in Fig. 1 but by pulling the handle 62 rightwardly fromthe position shown in Fig. 1, this portion of the casing will beoscillated around the shaft 10 until It is shown in its closed positionin Fig. 2.

In use, the files are rotated to the proper position to render anydesired card accessible, the position being indicated by the tabs on theguide cards which are placed at suitable intervals in the file. Thebrake 55 may be used to bring the file to a stop at the desiredposition, and the operator tilts the cards backwards or forward, as maybe necessary, in order to bring the desired data on the desired cardinto view. Such tilting of the cards is comparatively easy,notwithstanding the fact that the cards are packed continuously aroundthe file, because the cards are in the file relatively loosely and thecross partitions 25 and 26 may be tilted about an axis substantially atthe bottom of the card receiving channeL'as previously explained. InFig. 1 the partition 25 is shown tilted to a considerable extent so thatthe cards resting on it are in a relatively flat posi tion so that datamay be written on the backs of these cards if desired.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to beunderstood that the in ventive idea may be carried out in a number ofways. This application is therefore not to be limited to the precisedetails described, but is intended to cover all variations andmodifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention or thescope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A card index device comprising a cylinder having a peripheral slot,index cards arranged in said slot substantially continuously around thecircumference of said cylinder, said cards having notches in oppositeside edges thereof, and two pairs of substantially circular flangesmounted on said cylinder and cooperating with said cards, the flanges ofone pair engaging said notches and the flanges of the other pairoverlying the top edges of said cards.

2. A filing device of sheet metal comprising a shaft, a pair ofsubstantially circular sheet metal disks rotatably mounted on said shaftin spaced relation to each other, a substantially cylindrical sheetmetal member between said disks inwardly of the peripheries thereof andsecured to both of said disks to form the bottom of a card receivingchannel the sides of which are formed by said disks, and two pairs ofsubstantially continuous flanges, two on each disk and each extending ina direction toward the other disk for contacting with cards in saidchannel to hold them in place, both of said flanges on each disk beingspaced radially outwardly from said cylindrical member,

one of the flanges on each disk being adapted to,

overlie the top edges of cards received in said channel, and the otherflange on each disk being adapted to engage notches in the side edges ofsaid cards.

3. A filing device comprising a substantially circular open channel forreceiving cards, means for holding cards in said channel, and aplurality of transverse partition members in said channel each pivotallymounted for substantial oscillation so that cards adjacent saidpartition members may be readily tilted over for inspection and eachlocked against movement radially outwardly from said channel.

4. A filing device-comprising a rotatable body having a substantiallycircular open'channel for receiving cards, means for holding cards insaid channel, and a plurality of relatively thin transverse partitionmembers in said channel each mounted for oscillation about an axissubstan tially at the bottom of said channel and each retained againstmovement radially outwardly from said channel.

5. A filing device comprising a rotatable wheellike body having aperipheral channel for holding cards normally in upstandingsubstantially radial position, and a plurality of relatively thintransverse partition members at intervals around said channel to preventsaid cards from accidentally turning obliquely in said channel, each ofsaid partition members being mounted for oscillation about an axissubstantially at the bottom of said channel so that cards adjacent eachpartition member may be readily tilted over for inspection by tiltingthe partition member, and means for retaining said partition membersagainst substantially radial outward movement.

6. A filing device comprising a rotatable body having a peripheralchannel for holding cards, said channel including a bottom having a slottherein, and a transverse partition member in said channel, saidpartition member having an edge resting on said bottom and a portionextending loosely through said slot and deformed so as to be retainedtherein in all normal positions of said partition member, so that saidpartition member may oscillate through a substantial arc.

'7. A filing device comprising a rotatable body having a substantiallycircular channel for receiving cards, a pair of flanges extendinginwardly from the sides of said channel to retain cards therein, atransverse partition member in said channel pivotally mounted forsubstantial oscillation, and a portion on said partition member forcontacting with one of said flanges to limit the oscillating movement ofsaid partition member.

8. A filing device comprising a rotatable body having a substantiallycircular channel for receiving cards, a pair of flanges extendinginwardly from the sides of said channel to retain cards therein, atransverse partition member in said channel pivotally mounted about anaxis substantially at the bottom of said channel for oscillation backand forth to either side of a radial position, and a projecting portionon said partition member for contacting with one of said flanges tolimit the extent of oscillation of said partition member.

9. A filing device comprising a rotatable body having a substantiallycircular channel for receiving cards having notches in their bottomedges, means extending substantially continuously around said channeladjacent the bottom thereof for interlocking with said notches to retainthe cards in said channel, and a transverse partition member in saidchannel pivotally mounted for oscillation about an axis adjacent thebottom of said channel.

10. A filing device comprising a rotatable body having a substantiallycircular channel for receiving cards having notches in their bottomedges, means extending substantially continuously around said channeladjacent the bottom thereof for interlocking with said notches to retainthe cards in said channel, inwardly extending lateral flanges on thesides of said channel for cooperation with said cards additionally toretain them in said channel, and a transverse partition member in saidchannel pivotally mounted for oscillation so that cards adjacent theretomay be tilted readily for easy inspection.

11. A filing device comprising a rotatable body having a substantiallycircular channel for receiving cards, inwardly extending lateral flangeson the sides of said channel for cooperation with said cards to retainthem in said channel, and a transverse partition member in said channelpivotally mounted for oscillation so that cards adjacent said partitionmember may be readily tilted for easy inspection.

12. A filing device comprising a rotatable body having a substantiallycircular channel for receiving cards, means extending substantiallycontinuously around said channel for cooperation with said cards toretain them in said channel, a transverse partition member in saidchannel pivotally mounted for oscillation so that cards adjacent saidpartition member may be readily tilted for easy inspection, means forretaining said partition member against radial displacement from saidchannel, and braking means operable at will to arrest rotation of saidbody so that it may be stopped in such position that any desired card isaccessible.

JAMES B. STAFFORD, JR.

